British Police Attempt To Sidestep E-mail Protection

[Marty Levy]

British Police Attempt To Sidestep E-mail Protection

http://www.newsbytes.com/pubNews/118135.html

(09/16/98); 12:22 PM CST
By Steve Gold, Newsbytes
LONDON, ENGLAND,

 Steve Gold, Newsbytes. Newsbytes' sources have
 revealed that the Metropolitan Police have been
 holding a series of low-key discussions with
 major Internet service providers (ISPs) in the
 UK, aiming to streamline police access to e-mail
 and ISP user logs.

 According to one reliable source, the aim of the
 discussions is to develop a ground-breaking
 agreement between the police and ISPs so that,
 where the police have reasonable suspicion that
 an individual is sending or receiving e-mail, or
 downloading images that involve paedophilia,
 then they can formally request full details of
 the Internet user's mailbox and system logs, for
 example, from the ISP in question.

 While the aim of the project is to avoid the
 need for police to obtain a formal court order
 to access the ISP's computer systems, Newsbytes
 expects there to be a massive outcry from civil
 libertarian groups, since the police order could
 well be implemented against anyone with an
 account with a British ISP.

 Newsbytes understands that an expose on the
 police plans will be broadcast on Channel 4 news
 at 19:00 hours on British television this
 evening.

 Newsbytes' sources suggest that British ISPs are
 under immense pressure to comply with the police
 system since, if they do not comply and request
 a court order, the police could theoretically
 impound their computer systems, effectively
 putting an ISP out of action, and perhaps
 business, for an unknown period of time.

 "While I can understand the police wanting to
 gain access to Internet users' files who are
 accessing the Net for paedophile images, this
 does seem something of a steamroller approach,"
 said one industry source who spoke to Newsbytes
 after agreeing anonymity.

 Newsbytes notes that a major flaw exists in the
 British police's modus operandi for the proposed
 system, since the e-mail file servers for
 America Online (AOL) and CompuServe (AOL is the
 UK's largest ISP) are held in the US. Only the
 company's sales and support operations are
 located in the UK.

 "It will be interesting to see how the
 management of AOL and CompuServe in the US react
 to the news that they have to willingly hand
 over user logs and e-mail files to the British
 police," said the anonymous source.

 As has been proven by various cases in the US,
 the normal legal protection afforded postal and
 telephone communications by anti- wiretap
 legislation is not automatically extended to
 include e-mail.

 In the UK, it had been thought that the
 Interception of Communications Act might apply
 to e-mail, but the law relating to e-mail
 remains unproven, Newsbytes notes.

 Reported by Newsbytes News Network,
 http://www.newsbytes.com .

 12:22 CST

 (19980916/WIRES LEGAL, ONLINE/)

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